MANCHESTER UNITED can turn a good season into a great one by winning the Europa League and should have too much firepower for FC Copenhagen in this one-off quarter-final.
The prospect of United finishing third in the Premier League and going all the way in Europe seemed absurd back in January when they won just two of their first seven games in 2020.
But the arrival of Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon galvanised Ole Gunnar's Solskjaer's side and last month's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea is their only loss in the last 23 games.
Solskjaer fielded a shadow side in midweek for the second leg of their tie with LASK but United still won 2-1 to complete a 7-1 aggregate thumping as two of our man Scott Allot's bets came up.
With momentum behind them it's easy to see why the bookies make United favourites to win the Europa League at a best 15/8 with William Hill, just ahead of Italian giants Inter Milan who are 7/2 with Betway.
Copenhagen are arguably the weakest side left in the competition and didn't impress me too much when they saw off Celtic in the last 32. They thrashed Istanbul Basaksehir 3-0 (below) to reach the last eight and have won their last three games in all competitions.
But Stale Solkbakken's side were in miserable form before that, going six games without a win in the Danish league and losing four times.
So you suspect they will need to catch Manchester United on an off-day in Cologne to have any chance of reaching the semis.
How the bookies view it
Copenhagen have been written off by the bookies and are as big as 12/1 with William Hill to win in 90 minutes and 8/1 with Bet365 to qualify. United are as short as 1/9 with William Hill to qualify and a best 1/4 at 888Sport to finish the job without extra time.
The draw pays 11/2 with Bet365 but the best option may be a United win with both teams to score at 21/10 with Betway. Solskjaer's men have kept just two clean sheets in their last six games while the Danes have drawn a blank only twice in 13 matches.
Team news
Manchester United defenders Diogo Dalot and Victor Lindelof are injury doubts but they have a chance of featuring after returning to first-team training. Left-back Luke Shaw remains out with an ankle injury.
Nicolaj Thomsen is still sidelined for Copenhagen while Viktor Fischer, Michael Santos and Ragnar Sigurdsson are major doubts after missing the game with the Turks in midweek due to injury.
Players to watch
United star Fernandes (below) delivered for me when I tipped him to score on the final day of the league season at Leicester. The Portuguese midfielder takes the penalties so is decent value again here at 6/5 with Paddy Power for anytime scorer.
Jonas Wind was the hero for Copenhagen in the last round, netting a double, and is another player on spot-kick duties. The 21-year-old looks a hot prospect and could get some joy against United's suspect defence so he's worth considering at 17/4 with 888Sport for a goal.
Anything else catch the eye?
Solskjaer's side should be on the front foot for most of the game so I look the look of the 4/6 William Hill offer on United winning over one corner in each half.
Neither side has been putting the boot in of late so it's also worth backing under 4.5 cards at 5/6 with Bet365, especially with bookings less common in these behind-closed-doors games.
This UEFA Europa League match between Manchester United and FC Copenhagen will be played on Aug 10, 2020 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester United vs FC Copenhagen prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
